Name
Thomas William Abbiss
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Canadian Regiment
47th Battalion
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
NA
Biography
It is believed that Thomas in the man standing on the left in the photograph.
Tom was born on November 10th 1893 and was the son of Frank and Elizabeth Abbiss of Great Green, Pirton. He had three older siblings: Annie (bapt 1884), Albert(*1) (b 1887), who was killed in the war and is listed on the Village War Memorial, an elder sister, Rose (b 1891) and a younger sister, Alice (b 1896). He appears on the School War Memorial, confirming that he attended the school.
By 1911, Tom, then seventeen, was working as a farm labourer. Edna Lake from Canada, informs us that five Pirton men, including Tom, emigrated to Canada together in 1912. The others were Albert William (Toby) Buckett, Edward Lake, Charlie Stapleton and one of the Walkers, possibly Arthur Robert Walker. However, there is conflicting information for the emigration dates, including a North Herts Mail report, which suggests 1909 or 1910 for Toby. Tom was following in his brothers’ footsteps, as Albert had gone to Canada some years before.
He enlisted during June 1915, joining the 47th Battalion, Canadian Regiment in New Westminster, British Columbia. He was not married and would have been twenty-four. Tom, Toby, Edward, and Arthur all joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force, returning to Europe to fight; their allegiance to Great Britain was still very strong.
Tom’s attestation papers give some details of his appearance; at 5’ 10” he was a tall man, had light brown hair and grey eyes. He is also recorded as not having any previous military service, but perhaps confusingly, had been a member of the Canadian Militia.
The North Herts Mail of November 18th 1915 reported that he had returned from Canada to fight and that he was home (in Pirton) from training camp. In March 1916 his brother Albert was killed. The October 12th 1916 edition later recorded that he had been in France for about six weeks, had already been wounded, but not by the Germans: ‘We were in No Mans Land and a mate stuck me with a bayonet.’ The injury was to his right thigh. He again returned to England and was in a VAD(*2) Hospital in Church Stretton, Shropshire. He got some leave in November and managed to get back to Pirton. This must have been a little comfort to his parents following the death of his brother.
The North Herts Mail, December 14th 1916 edition also recorded that after emigrating to Canada he worked for Philip Trussell, the son of the Pirton post office man who had also emigrated and was an engineer on a boat. The same paper in a report on the Military Medal-winning Pirton man Arthur Robert Walker contained a part of a letter from him dated September 29th, which mentioned Tom; ‘I heard about Tom Abbiss being wounded. I saw him and was speaking to him the day before he went out on a raiding party (the same night that I was), and he was unfortunate enough to get wounded.’ So it was in September that Tom was wounded for the second time.
*1 A newspaper article refers to Alfred Abbiss, however this is believed to be a misprint.
*2 Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADS) were formed in 1909 by the War Office. Under this scheme, the British Red Cross Society was given the role of providing supplementary aid to the Territorial Forces Medical Service in the event of war. By the summer of 1914 there were over 2,500 VADs in Britain. Of the 74,000 VADs in 1914, two-thirds were women.
Additional Information
It is believed that Thomas in the man standing on the left in the photograph. Text from the book ‘The Pride of Pirton’ by Jonty Wild, Tony French & Chris Ryan used with author's permission
Acknowledgments
Text from the book ‘The Pride of Pirton’ by Jonty Wild, Tony French & Chris Ryan used with author's permission
